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A short review of Church History

In general we divide Church History into four parts: The Old Church , The Middle Ages, The Reformation and Modern Times and this Chronology follows this set-up.

However the History of Christianity is now often divided into six "Paradigms" (historical era, according to Hans Küng and David Bosch, who combines each era with a characteristic mission text):

The apocalyptic Paradigm of Early Christianity.
The hellenistic Paradigm of the Patristic Epoch (John 3:16).
The Roman-Catholic Paradigm of the Middle Ages (Luke 14:23).
The Protestant (Reformation) Paradigm (Romans 1:16f).
The modern Paradigm of Enlightenment:

The Christian West (Acts 16:9);
The Premillennialist: Adventists, "Holiness"-Movement, Pentecostals, Funda-mentalists, Evangelicals etc (Matthew 24:14);
The "Social Gospel"-Movement (John 10:10);
The Protestant Mission Movement (Matthew 28:18-20);

The evolving post-modern Ecumenical Paradigm (1. Peter 2:9)]

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1. The OLD CHURCH: (from Jesus/Pentecost to about 8th. Century AD)

1.1. 6 or 4 BC birth of Jesus, his public ministry 28-30 AD.

30? death of Jesus by crucifixion (26-36 Pontius Pilate was Roman governor in Judaea)

1.2. Time of the Apostles:

(Apostles: those who have seen Jesus Christ) Peter, James and John are the leaders of the first congregation in Jerusalem (Jewish-Christian con-gregation); Paul, Barnabas, Silas and Timothy spread the Gospel among the gentiles (Gentile-Christian congregations).

34? conversion of Paul

43?-45 Paul's first missionary journey through Asia Minor;

46?-49 Paul's second missionary journey through Asia Minor and Greece;

50-51 Paul in Corinth: Letter to the Thessalonians

49 or 51 The first Christian Council in Jerusalem

52 Paul's third missionary journey through Asia Minor and Greece;

53-56 Letters to the Galatians, Philippians, Corinthians and Romans;

57-62 Paul in captivity, executed in Rome

60-100 The first three Gospels are written - Mark first

64 Great Fire of Rome; Nero persecutes the Christians--probable date of martyrdom of Peter

66-73 The Jews revolt against Rome since 66

70 Fall and destruction of Jerusalem

1.3. The Defence of the Christian Faith and the Imperial Church:

Christians had to defend their faith against the persecution of the Jewish community, the Roman state and against heresies from within:

a) Christianity is seen as a new Jewish sect and therefore the Jews defend themselves against this "new way". Stephen and James were killed by them.

b) Christians are persecuted under Roman emperors: under Nero (64 AD), Domitian (90), Decius and Valerius (250) and under Diocletian (500). The accounts of the blood witnesses are very touching, e.g. martyrdom of the bishop, Polycarp of Smyrna or of Cyprian. The end of the persecution is 313 AD.

c) Christians had to struggle with the heresies from within their own ranks (especially against a movement called "Gnosis" = knowledge). Foreign ideas from heathen religions influenced Christian thinking and this fait mixed with the Gospel of Christianity (syncretism). In gnostic thinking heaven was divided into different aeons, with a multitude of gods (among them the creator-god and Christ).

1.4. In these conflicts it was essential to protect the message of the Gospel:

through the church's the-ology, by setting down the New Testament canon, by guidelines for Christian life and through for-mulating Confessions of faith.

a) The Church fathers (Apologetes) defended Christianity against accusations (Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Hippolyt, Tertullian, Cyprian, Origen).

b) The canon of the New Testament is fixed (canon = guideline) and false teachings (e.g. some of the Apocrypha in the NT) are discarded.

c) Christian and congregational life is being organized and regulated: the bishop becomes the leader of the congregation, church services are held in the temple, then in houses and then in the basilica, or church buildings. Holy Communion is held Sunday evenings in houses and later during service times in the church building. Congregations come together to constitute synods of an area.

d) During the Christian Councils, called by the emperor, the Christian faith and truth is defended and laid down in the Creeds:

150? A three-part confession of faith as basis of the Apostles' Creed (the so-called Romanum);

325 Council of Nicaea condemns the theology of Arius and declares that Christ is "one in essence with the Father" (Nicene Creed);

381 The 2nd Council at Constantinople formulates the teaching on the Trinity in the Nicene Creed (Nicaeno-Constantinopolitanum) and the see of Constantinople is as-signed seniority of honour after Rome;

431 The 3rd Council of Ephesus condemns Nestorius and reaffirms the faith of Ni-caea: Theotokos ('Godbearer') is vindicated as the title of the Virgin Mary

451 The 4th Council of Chalcedon affirms Christ is one person "in two natures" (Christology): this is rejected by Christians in Egypt and Syria and elsewhere, who come to constitute 'Oriental' Orthodox Churches, separate from Constantinople.

553 The 5th Council at Constantinople condemns the "Three Chapters".

681 The 6th Council at Constantinople re-emphasizes the Chalcedonian Christol-ogy, saying that Christ has "two natural wills";

787 The 7th Council at Nicaea upholds the veneration of icons

1.5. 354-430 Augustine bishop of Hippo:

describes his conversion in his "Confessions" (386) and teaches salvation by God's grace alone (righteousness). His theological writings against Donatists and Pelagians and his City of God dominate Western thought down to Aquinas.

1.6. In 306 Constantine

is proclaimed emperor at York and in 313 he adopts a Christian symbol for his standards at the battle of the Milvian Bridge. In 330 Constantine inaugurates Constantinople (formerly Byzantium) as 'New Rome' with Christian ceremonies, the emperor being the head of the church. Meanwhile in Rome: Pope Leo the Great (pope 440-61) emphasizes the headship of the Pope. In 337 Constantine is baptized on his death-bed. Christianity becomes a state religion.

1.7. Initiated by the prophet Muhammad (570-632)

in Mecca and Medina, (610 writings of the Ko-ran, 622 the hegira, as the beginning of the Muslim calendar), Islam advances into Christian regions: Palestine (638), North-Africa (642) and Spain (711), thereby displacing Christian people from the Mediterranean. In 455 the Vandals take Rome: Pope Leo the Great negotiates with them, as he had with the Huns (under Attila). The spread of Islam, the Germanic migration and the conquest of Rome lead to the downfall of the Roman empire. This could be seen as the turning point between Early Church and Middle Ages.

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2. THE MIDDLE AGES: (ca 450 - 1500)

2.1. During the Middle Ages Christianity shifts from the Roman area around the Mediterranean to that of the Germanic tribes, also due to mission work among them.

2.2. Ulfilas (or Wulfila, 311-388) becomes the first missionary amongst the Goths (near Constantino-ple) and translates the Bible into Gothic. The gothic Christians were called "Arian", because their confession differed from that of the Christians in Rome.

2.3. Around 430 Patrick ("Apostle of Ireland") brought the Word of God to Ireland. Some twenty years later the Anglo-saxons accepted Christianity. In 496 it spread among the Franks, though the baptism of Clovis, king of the Franks.

2.4. Monks from Ireland and Scotland sent missionaries to the mainland, among them Boniface (Wynfrith, the "Apostle to the Germans", 675-754, murdered in Frisia) who makes his first mission-ary journey to Frisia in 716, founding monasteries in Hesse, Thuringia, Bavaria and comes to Rome in 722.

2.5. Charlemagne "the Great" (768-814) is crowned as emperor of the Holy Roman empire by Pope Leo III in 800. He thereby becomes the head of the Western church and the pope and bishops thereby lose some of their power.

2.6. Saxons are converted to Christianity after 800 and in 848 Anskar, archbishop of Bremen, evan-gelizes Denmark and Sweden c.830-65, Norway is Christianized around 1000.

2.7. In 909 the Monastery of Cluny is founded to become a centre of reform and in 1095 the abbey of Citeaux is founded and the Cistercian Order spreads rapidly (over 600 houses by the end of the 13th century).

2.8. 1054 Schism between Eastern Church (Byzanz) and Western Church (Rome), when mutual anathemas are exchanged at Constantinople between Cardinal Humbert, representing the papacy, and Patriarch Michael Cerularius. (The Roman Church only withdrew its anathema at the 2nd Vati-can Council in 1965).

2.9. 1073-1080 a struggle ensues between pope and emperor: in 1076 the Council of Worms deposes Gregory VII; thereupon Gregory deposes and excommunicates Henry IV, who does penance at Canossa (1077) and is reinstated, only to be excommunicated again in 1080 whereupon the imperial-ist Pope Clement III is elected.

Map of the crusades

2.10. During the Crusades (1096 - 1291) Christians attempt to free the Holy Land from islamic Turks and Arabs.

1096-99
1. Crusade: conquest of Jerusalem

1147-49
2. Crusade: defeat at Damascus

1189-92
3. Crusade: conquest of Akko; death of Barbarossa

1202-04
4. Crusade: "conquest" of Constantinople

1228-29
5. Crusade: Frederick II King of Jerusalem

1291 unsuccessful 6. and 7. Crusade: Fall of Akko - End of Crusades

2.11. In the Middle Ages different monastic orders are founded, e.g. Franciscans (after Francis of As-sisi 1209) and Dominican friars (Dominicus from Spain in 1216).

2.12. Scholasticism (The study of philosophy and the old sciences) spreads with the establishment of theological universities (Paris ca 1200). Albert the Great, Thomas von Aquin, 1255 in Paris, and Duns Scotus are some of the great teachers of this time. When Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 many scholars turn to the West, bringing with them the knowledge which was ac-quired in the East.

2.13. In the 13. Century the papacy wins more power: the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 decreed: annual confession is ordered, the doctrine of Eucharist is defined (teaching of transubstantiation), and the clergy is forbidden to countenance ordeals. In 1302 Boniface VIII, in his Unam Sanctam, pro-claims universal jurisdiction of the pope and the superiority of the spiritual power over the secular. However in 1305-1377, the French exile of the papacy in Avignon, means the downfall of the papacy: the "Babylonian Captivity of the Church".

2.14. German Mysticism becomes a new faith movement in the late Middle Ages through which the Christian tries to find God through inner meditation. Such mysticism is found: in the German Do-minican Meister Eckhart of Cologne (died 1327), and his disciple Johann Tauler (died 1361), and in such books as the Imitatio Christi (1418), ascribed to Thomas a Kempis.

2.15. The spiritual and moral life within the Roman-Catholic church declines more and more, granting of forgiveness of sins by buying indulgences, relic veneration, pilgrimages, and prayer exer-cises is emphasized.

2.16. Within the church there is an attempt at reforming the church through the Councils (Constance in 1414-18, affirming that general councils were superior to popes; Basle 1431-49). Sharp criticism is levelled against the papacy by such men and movements as the Waldensians (followers of Peter Val-des who formed "the poor men of Lyons" in the 12 C.), John Wyclif (1375-82) who attacked the clerical wealth, monasticism and authority of pope and started with an English translation of the Bi-ble. In 1415 Jan Huss, who wrote for reform of the church on Wyclif's lines, was burnt by the council at Constance as was Girolamo Savonarola at Florence in 1498 for his criticism of the church. These can be termed the forerunners of the Reformation.

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3. THE REFORMATION (ca 1500 - 1650)

Reform means to form anew, to design anew, and Reformation means the renewal of the church. Instead of ask-ing about forms, given by humans and traditions, the question changes to forms given from the New Testament and the Bible.

3.1. The Reformation is not the only movement of renewal, other movements have influenced the Reformation, e.g. the Renaissance and Humanism. These movements are interested in the classical civilization, including languages like Greek and Hebrew. Newly founded universities, e.g. the Univer-sity of Wittenberg founded by Frederick the Wise in 1502, turn to these humanistic studies.

3.2. Humanism emphasizes the independence of the individual and the secular, it is a movement which turns back to the original sources and is therefore interested to learn the original languages of documents. This movement is influenced by the discoveries of a new world concept - since Coperni-cus the earth is no longer the centre of the universe, and such discoveries as that of the printing press by Gutenberg in 1450 and of America in 1492. Johann Reuchlin, a German humanist, explored the Hebrew language of the Old Testament and an-other humanist, Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536), whom many expected would reform the church, edited a new Greek New Testament.

Martin Luther

3.3. Martin LUTHER (born 10.11.1483 in Eisleben) visited schools at Mansfeld, Magdeburg and Eisenach. Since 1501 he studied at Erfurt and in 1505 he enters the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt, when he was overcome by the fear of God in a thunderstorm ("Help holy Anne, I want to become a monk"). After receiving his doctorate, Luther becomes professor of Theology at Wittenberg in 1512.

On 31.10.1517 he nails the 95 Theses against the sale of Indulgences against the door of the castle-church at Wittenberg. He disapproved the sale of forgiveness of sins, as Tetzel was propagating it, as well as the veneration of relics in the castle at Wittenberg.

During the summer of 1520 Luther published his primary works pertaining to the reformation of the church: The Sermon on Good Works in May, The Papacy at Rome in June, The Address to the German Nobility in August, The Babylonian Captivity in September, and The Freedom of the Christian Man in November. These works are considered as Luther's most important and mirror his theological basis the clearest.

In April 1521 Luther appears before the Diet of Worms, before the emperor Charles V and the state ("Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen"). Being declared an outcast by the Diet, his elector, Frederick the Wise, ordered his men to abduct Luther to the castle of Wartburg, where he lives as Squire George. He translates the New Testament into German (September edition of 1522) and completes the translation of the whole Bible into German in 1534.

During the peasants' uprising, 1524-1525, Luther admonishes the lords and the peasants to seek for peace. On 13 June 1525 he marries Catharine von Bora, a nun whom he helped escape from the cloister of Nimbschen.

1529 Luther's Small and Large (German) Catechisms;

1530 At the Diet of Augsburg, the "Evangelical" lords present to the emperor the Augsburg Confes-sion, formulated by Melanchthon, as their confession of faith.

Luther dies on 18.2.1546 in his town of birth, Eisleben.

3.4. On the one side Luther directs his criticism against the pope and the Roman Catholic church with its teaching concerning indulgences, i.e. that one can be saved through material means and through doing good works of fasting, pilgrimages, prayers etc. We receive forgiveness of sin and salvation only by God's grace, for Christ's sake, through faith. On the other side Luther fights against the radical reformers, the enthusiasts and Anabaptists, who oppose infant baptism, disregard Holy Communion and reject the system and protection of the state as God's good order.

3.5. One of Luther's closest colleagues and successor is Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560), who wrote the first "Lutheran" systematic theology "Loci communes" in 1521. Other colleagues of Luther were: Johann Bugenhagen, Justus Jonas, Nikolaus von Amsdorf and others.

3.6. Ulrich or Huldreich Zwingli (1484 - 1531) initiates the Reformation in Zürich (Switzerland), also through his strong influence in the city council. Due to his different interpretation of the way Christ is present in Holy Communion, a theological dispute between him and Luther arose which culmi-nated in a meeting in Marburg in 1529.

3.7. The Church of England was constituted when king Henry VIII was not granted an annulment of marriage from Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleign. Henry broke from Rome and was rec-ognised as head of the church in England in 1531.

3.8. John Calvin (1509-1564), born in France, initiates a similar Reformation than Zwingli's in the city of Geneva. He has a deciding influence in the city council especially in the enforcement of strict church discipline. Concerning the understanding of Holy Communion he follows a similar interpretation than Zwingli that bread and wine only signify body and blood of Christ. He also teaches the double predestination that God has elected some to eternal salvation and others to damnation. Calvin built up strong relationships to scholars in many countries and has therefore a broader world-wide influence than e.g. Luther. Followers of Calvinism moved to North America and had a decisive influ-ence in Scotland and the Netherlands. The French Huguenots were persecuted (e.g. in the so-called Bartholomew's Night massacre in France on 24.8.1572).

Europe after the reformation

3.9. The Roman-Catholic knight, Ignatius of Loyola (1491?-1556), founds the Order of the Jesuits in 1534, as a reform movement within the Roman-Catholic church and to counter the influence of the Reformation on the spiritual side (Counter-Reformation). The worst abuses within the Roman-Catholic church (the selling of indulgences and high posts of church offices) are censured and re-moved at the Council of Trent (1545-1563), however the emphasis on good works besides justification by faith is retained.

3.10. Wars between the Roman-Catholic and Evangelical princes and nobility, e.g. the Smalcald War of 1546-1547, are finally brought to an end with the Religious Peace of Augsburg of 25 September 1555. With the formulation: "cuius regio eius religio" (one should adopt the religion adhered to by those in power: "according to the country the religion") the state recognizes the Evangelical territo-rial churches.

3.11. With the Book of Concord of 1580 the unity of the Evangelical-Lutheran churches among them-selves is strengthened by stipulating the Confessional Writings of the Lutheran church. These consist of: the three Chief Symbols of the Old Church (the Apostles', Nicene and Athanasian Creeds), the Augsburg Confession (1530) and its Apology (1531), the Smalcald Articles (1537), Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope (1537), the Small and Large Catechisms of M.Luther (1529) and the Formula of Concord (1577). These confessional writings receive their special value and emphasis during the time of Lutheran Orthodoxy.

3.12. The Thirty Year War (1618-1648), in general between Roman-Catholic and Evangelical-Lutheran countries, leads to great suffering and the decimation of the population in central Europe. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden comes to rescue of the beleaguered Evangelicals and is often seen as the national hero of Protestantism. During these trying times Paul Gerhardt compiles some of the best known hymns of comfort and consolation.

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4. THE NEW AGE (ca 1650 till now 1997)

4.1. After the terror of the Thirty Year War a new age begins in Europe, the Enlightenment. It is a time of new discoveries and inventions (mechanical revolution). Sciences flourish and all observations are subjected under human reason and knowledge. Belief in wonders declines and the mysteries of the world are scrutinized and explained according to human reason. Some supporters of Enlighten-ment deny God, others emphasize his creating power when they discover the order of nature.

4.2. The 17th Century is the time of Absolutism. Territorial princes and nobility reign sovereign, the people have no say (Ludwig XIV: "The State am I"). This is the beginning of the state church con-cept, the state (the prince) has the say and the responsibility for the care and public welfare for the church. In Germany this regulation remains in place till after the First World War, 1918.

4.3. Against the strong influence of Enlightenment in the church, Pietism strives for renewal in the church to counter-act this influence. Supporters of Pietism oppose the emphasis on learning and scholarship and prefer devotional Bible studies, affectionate and warm Christian communal living, also in small circles. Representatives of Pietism are amongst others: Philipp Jakob Spener, August Hermann Francke and Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, who founded Herrenhut and sent Moravian missionaries into the world. But also the hymn writers, Christian Friedrich Richter and Gerhard Terstegen belong to this movement.

4.4. Another movement in the 18th Century counter-acting the influence of Enlightenment (now in form of the classical period, of German Idealism and Nationalism) is the Romantic and the Revival- or Awakening- movement, which might be seen as being related to Pietism, but which emphasizes its connections to the Reformation more strongly. Among the leaders of the Awakening we have to mention especially Daniel Friedrich Schleiermacher, preacher and professor in Berlin. Also Ludwig Harms, founder of the Hermannsburg Mission, as the founders of other mission societies (e.g. Rhenish, Berlin, Leipzig, Bethel, Neuendettelsau Mission So-cieties) are closely related to this movement.

4.5. In Prussia King Frederick Wilhelm (1817) attempted to introduce a union between the Lutheran and Reformed churches, by writing a new Church Service Order, with elements from both confes-sions. But instead of having the one United Church (Unierte Kirche) in Prussia, he now had three dif-ferent denominations: the Union, the Evangelical-Lutheran and Reformed churches. However the wish to overcome the denominational particularities become apparent.

4.6. The 19th Century has become the era of World mission. Missionaries from Europe and America, especially from England (e.g. the London Mission Society, LMS, founded in 1795) travel to most of the newly discovered countries of the world. They proclaim the Gospel, study the foreign languages and customs, and at the same time they bring the values of the Western world to these faraway coun-tries. From a critical point of view missionaries are often seen as supporters of European colonialism and therefore of European political domination.

4.7. The Inner Mission is founded during the turbulent years of revolution in Germany around 1848, as a social service to the needy and sick. In Hamburg Johann H.Wichern founds a house for young homeless people "Rauhes Haus" and in Bethel Friedrich von Bodelschwingh starts with an institu-tion for the handicapped, which becomes the "Town of Mercy".

4.8. In 1918, after the First World War, the territorial state church concept is brought to an end. Be-tween the two World Wars a tension erupts in Germany with the rise of National Socialism. In 1932 the movement of "German Christians" arises, against which a Evangelical Emergency Fellowship is formed (by Pastor Niemöller, Karl Barth etc), which formulates the "Barmer Theological Declara-tion" of 1934.

After the terrors of the Second World War, in which some 40 million people died, there is a need for closer co-operation and fellowship between the churches. In the year 1948 the "Evangelical Church in Germany" (EKD) is founded as a "federation of Lutheran, Reformed and Union churches in Germany", as well as the United Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Germany (VELKD).

4.9. At the beginning of the 20th Century many new Pentecostal and charismatic Free churches are founded, especially in the USA. Also in the mission territories all over the world indigenous churches start mushrooming, either by splitting of from the mission churches or by becoming independent through a process of negotiation with the home boards of the mission societies.

During this time the ecumenical movement (oikos=the whole world) gains ground, i.e. churches no longer fight against each other but rather search for common ground of co-operation. In Edinburgh the first Evangelical World Mission Conference takes place in 1910. And in 1948 the ecumenical World Council of Churches (WCC) is founded in Amsterdam, by combining the two ecumenical movements of "Faith and Order" and "Life and Work". The General Assemblies of the WCC take place: 1954 in Evanston, 1961 in New Delhi (Incorporating the International Missionary Council), 1968 in Uppsala (Affiliating the World Council for Christian Education), 1975 in Nairobi, 1983 in Vancouver, 1991 in Canberra.

Most of the Evangelical-Lutheran Churches are members of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), which was founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden). The General Assemblies are held in: Lund (1947), Hannover (1952), Minneapolis (1957), Helsinki (1963), Evian (1970), Dar es Salaam (1977), Budapest (1984), Curitiba (1990) and Hong Kong (1997).

4.10. Between 1962-1965 the Second Vatican Council of the Roman-Catholic Church proposes wide-reaching proposals: reforming the Liturgy by emphasizing more the indigenous languages; the role of the laity in the church; a more open relationship to other denominations and the world.

4.11. Through the Arnoldshain Conference of 1957, the Leuenberg or Concord of Lutheran and Re-formed churches in Europe of 1973 Lutheran, Reformed and Union churches in Europe grant each other fellowship of pulpit and altar. Negotiations between different denominations, e.g. between Lu-therans and Roman Catholics on the issue of justification by faith aim at lifting the clauses of con-demnation which existed between the churches for centuries, so that fellowship may be granted.

4.12. At the end of the 20th Century some 30% of the World's population will be termed as Chris-tian. Due to the drain of Christian membership from their respective churches, some speak of a post-Christian era, increasingly determined by secularization. Christianity is losing influence in a world which is determined by science and technology. On the other side scientists realize that science and technology cannot give final answers as was being expected in the middle of the twentieth century. This development is a challenge to the church of Jesus Christ, as a call for conversion and renewal.

Periods in the History of Evangelical-Lutheran Churches in Southern Africa

Early beginnings of mission work: (1650-1800)

1652 Jan van Riebeeck comes to the Cape, time of the Dutch East India Company who adhered to the Reformed Confession;

1665 Lutheran immigrants are allowed to participate in the service of the Reformed Church.

1737-1744 Mission work starts with Georg Schmidt a Moravian missionary who worked at Genadendal amongst the Khoi-Khoin. The work was taken up again only about 50 years later in 1792.

1774 German Lutherans erect their own Church in the Strand Street, only 1778 religious freedom was granted.

The main missionary engagement: (1800 - 1900)

1795 British occupation of the Cape (1795) and founding of the London Missionary Society (with such famous missionaries as John Th. Vanderkemp, John Philip, Robert Moffat and David Living-stone);

1829 The Rhenish Mission Society (RMS) starts work in Cape and South West Africa;

1834 The Berlin Mission Society (BMS) starts in the Cape, Natal, Transvaal, with development of Botshabelo as important station, and amongst German speaking immigrants and dependants;

1844 The Norwegian Mission Society (NMS) comes to Natal and Zululand;

1854 The Hermannsburg Mission Society (HMS), founded by L.Harms 1849 in Hermannsburg, starts work in Natal, Zululand, present day Botswana, Transvaal (in 1857) and German speaking set-tlers;

1870 The Finnish Mission Society (FMS) begins its work in South West Africa (Namibia);

1873 Due to a split in the Norwegian Mission Society the Norwegian Church Mission is established in Natal (also called Schreuder Mission) since 1927 supported by Norwegians in the USA, therefore named American Lutheran Mission (ALM);

1876 The Swedish Church Mission (SCM) starts its work in Natal, Zululand and Southern Rhodesia;

1892 A split in the Hermannsburg Mission Society leads to the establishment of the Hannovarian Free-church Mission (HFM), which works among Zulu-, Tswana and German-speaking people.

Growth, Consolidation and Independence: (1900 - 1960)

1899-1902 Boer War and 1910 formation of Union of South Africa. Two World Wars 1914-18, 1939-45 cause a surge for independence in the colonies of Africa, e.g. Uhuru in Ghana in 1957.

1889-1964 General Lutheran Conference in Natal (1889-1964), in which all six Lu-theran missions in Natal participate;

1895 Constitution of South African Synod, Cape Church;

1904 General Missionary Conference of Souther Africa founded

1910 First World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh;

1912 Co-operating Lutheran Missions (CLM) between five Lutheran Missions in Natal/Zululand (BMS, NMS, SCM in 1912, ALM in 1927, HMS 1938): co-ordination of training of teachers and pas-tors (in Umpumulo, Oscarsberg and Emmaus), the printing of Bibles and Hymn Books and mission work in general;

1911 German Evang.-Luth Synod (Hermannsburg) constituted by 11 German speaking congrega-tions.

Forming of Berlin regional synods: Cape, Transvaal and Natal regions.

1925 German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of congregations in co-operation with Berlin Mission So-ciety;

1927 Three German speaking synods (SWA, Cape and Transvaal) establish an German Evangelical Lutheran Church Alliance (DELKBund);

1936 Christian Council of South Africa, renamed in 1968 as the South African Council of Churches (SACC).

1953 In the Council of Churches on Lutheran Foundation in S.A. (CCLF) closer co-operation be-tween Lutheran churches is envisaged and this leads to the formation of FELCSA.

1957-1966

Mission churches become independent according to the following dates:

(ELC stands for Evangelical-Lutheran Church; ELCSA for Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Southern Africa; SWA for South West Africa; N for Namibia):

1957 Rhenish Mission Church in SWA (ELCSWA - Rhenish Mission); now ELCRIN = Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia;

1959 ELC in Southern Rhodesia; now ELCZ = Ev.Luth.Church in Zimbabwe;

1959 ELCSA Tswana Regional Church (ELCSA-Tswana), since 1975 ELCSA-Western Diocese (EL-CSA-WD)

1960 ELCSA South East Region (ELCSA-SER), 1975 ELCSA-South Eastern Diocese (ELCSA-SED);

1960 DELKSWA - German Evangelical-Lutheran Church in SWA; now ELCIN(DELK); 1960 ELCSWA Ovambocavango; now ELCIN;

1960 Moravian Church Western Cape;

1961 ELCSA Transvaal Region (ELCSA-Transvaal), 1975 ELCSA-Northern Diocese (ELCSA-ND)

1961 ELCSA (Transvaal Church), since 1981 amalgamated with ELCSA(Hermannsburg) to form ELCSA (Natal-Transvaal)= ELCSA(NT);

1961 ELCSA (Cape Church); 1963 ELCSA Cape Orange Region (ELCSA-COR), since 1975 ELCSA-Cape Orange Diocese (EL-CSA-COD)

1963 ELCSA (Hermannsburg), since 1981 amalgamated with ELCSA (Hermannsburg) to form EL-CSA (Natal-Transvaal) = ELCSA(NT);

1966 Moravian Church in Eastern Cape

*1967 Lutheran Church in South Africa [Free Church] (LCSA);

*1972 Free Evangelical-Lutheran Synod in South Africa (FELSiSA);

Lutheran pastors are trained at Umpumulo (previously also Marang for ELCSA), Pietermaritzburg (joint venture of ELCSA and UELCSA), Windhoek (previously Otjibingwe for churches in Namibia), Heideveld (Moravian), Enhlahleni (LCSA) and Pretoria (FELSiSA).

Federal Groupings, Mergers, Unity (1960 to today)

New constitution of the Republic of South Africa in 1961. Since 1994 change towards a democratic govern-ment.

1964/5 United Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (VELKSA) comprising the four German-speaking Churches (Cape, DELKSWA, Transvaal and Hermannsburg), see DELKBund; responsible for liturgical questions and training of pastors;

1966 Establishment of the Federation of Evang.-Lutheran Churches in Southern Africa (FELCSA) comprising some 750 000 members from the thirteen participating Lutheran and Moravian churches in Southern Africa, mentioned above as independent churches, with the exception of the two Free churches *.

1969 FELCSA church leaders conference decides on fellowship at altar and pulpit between all mem-ber churches in FELCSA, introduced 1971.

1975 Swakopmund Appeal accepted by FELCSA church leaders speaks out against alien principles in the churches' life (apartheid). 1975 The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) is constituted by merging the four Regional Churches. Originally with 5 Dioceses it is today subdivided into 7 Dioceses, with a membership of some 560 000.

1981 The ELCSA (Natal-Transvaal) is constituted when the two "German speaking" churches, EL-CSA (Hermannsburg) and ELCSA (Transvaal) merge (a membership of approximately 11 000). 1984 The Unity Committee is established between the three churches, ELCSA, ELCSA (Cape) with 6000 members and ELCSA (Natal-Transvaal).

1991 The Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa (LUCSA) is formed as successor of FELCSA with 14 member churches: the Evangelical-Lutheran Churches in Mozambique, in Angola, in Ma-lawi, in Zimbabwe, in Botswana; the Ev.-Luth. Churches in Namibia: ELCIN, ELCRIN (Rhenish Church) and ELCIN(DELK); and those in South Africa: ELCSA with 7 Dioceses, ELCSA(Natal-Transvaal), ELCSA(Cape) and the Moravian Church. The total membership of LUCSA is about 1 610 000.

As in the past, Christians at the end of the 20th Century also look in waiting hope to him "who is, who was and who is to come" (Revelation 1:8)

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